The project of Reload Architects Studio, namely Anikó Petőcz-Tóth and Péter Csizmadi DLA, takes on a creative new look on the architecture of industrial parks. It does not come as a surprise that the new warehouse and manufacturing plant and the office of Food Base Kft. won the Annual Baumit Award of Facades special prize and the Annual Office Award in 2016.

In 2014, we received a commission from Food Base Kft., manufacturer of food aromas, to design their new warehouse and manufacturing plant together with an office building in Gödöllő, a town located 40 kilometres’ south-east of Budapest. This office was also intended to be one of the key pillars of the renewal of their corporate image. In case of the office, we not only received the order to design the building, but we were also commissioned to handle the plans for the entire interior design.

Our client asked us to design a simple and yet unique looking building with an imposing presence on the area of an industrial park. The idea was for it to establish a connection with food aroma manufacturing that represents the profile of the company, and at the same time creates – through its interior spaces – a high quality and timeless working environment.

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A vital aspect was for us to be able to create – via utilizing simple methods while breaking away from the monotony of the industrial parks' built environment – an invigorating and stable architectural quality. Our client recognized that introducing even the smallest trace of creativity smuggled into the functional world of the architecture of industrial parks would go a long way to enhancing the built environment, and it would also serve to shape and develop the corporate image, nevertheless providing employees with a work/rest environment of an unusually high standard for the sector.

Regarding both the external and internal spaces, the core of the design concept was provided by the demand for using vivid and unusual colours, the search for abstract presentational opportunities of basic geometrical elements, and the creation of a transparent, clean internal space referencing the pure but colourful world of food aromas.

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We made the simplified, clean lines of the office building noteworthy by installing coloured glass panels in pre-planned ‘random’ positioning between the glass panels of the ribbon windows and through the unusual choice of colours on the façade. The use of surprising and distinctive tones on the façade serves to elevate the mass of the main block out of the industrial park’s architecture. With this German and Dutch architecture-inspired design, this solution has not only introduced something innovative into the world of industrial parks, but it also presented a challenge from technical aspect. While cooperating closely with the contractor, we worked out a solution that makes the façade structure resistant to the hazards caused by summer heat.

Thus, the building – as a corporate image element – can communicate a highly distinctive character. Spaces in the office building are separated by a 9-m-high atrium, in which are located the reception desk and lounge furniture. Bridgeways linking different functions, and huge, customized suspended pendant ring lamps make this space with significant internal ceiling-height even more imposing. During the planning stage, we constantly coordinated technical issues with Térváz Kft’s contracting team, to guarantee that specific solution sets were developed to serve the interests of the client, the contractor and designer, as well as – in the broader sense – the built environment of the industrial park.

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Our interior design concept was also focused on ensuring that the purity and order of spaces, their dynamic transparency blending one into another should reflect, in an abstract way, the nature of the pure chemistry work representing the basis of aroma manufacturing. The saturated colours appearing in the interiors and on the façade reflect the rich tones and the diversity of flavours of the aromas that are produced. By utilizing all these associations, we could generate a unique character not only in the exterior appearance of the building, but also in the interior design that supports the formation of the company’s image. However, for us, the most important learning conclusion in this interior design project is that it is possible to create an intimate, ‘homely’ and yet individualistic working environment using relatively few interior design tools. What is more, we achieved all this so that when shaping the spatial connections and interior design auras there was never any need to make a compromise that would go against the functionality requirements necessary in everyday work of Food Base employees.

When designing this farm house-like home, András Varsányi, Péter Pozsár and Norbert Vas considered some major factors: minimalist ground-plan and the integration of basic forms – yet keeping in mind that a warm and intimate atmosphere is what they want to achieve.